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{{Other uses}}{{redirect|Sentence structure|sentence types in traditional grammar|Sentence clause structure}}{{linguistics}}In linguistics, syntax ({{IPAc-en|Ë|s|Éª|n|t|Ã¦|k|s}}{{refn|{{OxfordDictionaries.com|accessdate=2016-01-22|syntax}}}}{{refn|{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|=2016-01-22|syntax}}}}) is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences (sentence structure) in a given language, usually including word order. The term syntax is also used to refer to the study of such principles and processes.BOOK, Chomsky, Noam, 2002, 1957, Syntactic Structures, 11, The goal of many syntacticians is to discover the syntactic rules common to all languages.In mathematics, syntax refers to the rules governing the notation of mathematical systems, such as formal languages used in logic. (See logical syntax.)

Etymology

Sequencing of subject, verb, and object

One basic description of a language's syntax is the sequence in which the subject (S), verb (V), and object (O) usually appear in sentences. Over 85% of languages usually place the subject first, either in the sequence SVO or the sequence SOV. The other possible sequences are VSO, VOS, OVS, and OSV, the last three of which are rare. In most generative theories of syntax, these surface differences arise from a more complex clausal phrase structure, and each order may be compatible with multiple derivations.

Theories

There are a number of theoretical approaches to the discipline of syntax. One school of thought, founded in the works of Derek Bickerton,See BOOK, Language and Species, Bickerton, Derek, 1990, University of Chicago Press, 0-226-04610-9, and, for more recent advances, BOOK, Biological foundations and origin of syntax, Derek Bickerton, EÃ¶rs SzathmÃ¡ry, 2009, MIT Press, 978-0-262-01356-7, sees syntax as a branch of biology, since it conceives of syntax as the study of linguistic knowledge as embodied in the human mind. Other linguists (e.g., Gerald Gazdar) take a more Platonistic view, since they regard syntax to be the study of an abstract formal system.Ted Briscoe, 2 May 2001, Interview with Gerald Gazdar {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051122163306weblink |date=2005-11-22 }}. Retrieved 2008-06-04. Yet others (e.g., Joseph Greenberg) consider syntax a taxonomical device to reach broad generalizations across languages.

Generative grammar

The hypothesis of generative grammar is that language is a structure of the human mind. The goal of generative grammar is to make a complete model of this inner language (known as i-language). This model could be used to describe all human language and to predict whether any given utterance in a hypothetical language would sound correct to a speaker of that language (versus constructions which no human language would use). This approach to language was pioneered by Noam Chomsky. Most generative theories (although not all of them) assume that syntax is based upon the constituent structure of sentences. Generative grammars are among the theories that focus primarily on the form of a sentence, rather than its communicative function.Among the many generative theories of linguistics, the Chomskyan theories are:

Government and binding theory (GB) (revised theory in the tradition of TG developed mainly by Chomsky in the 1970s and 1980s)Chomsky, Noam (1981/1993). Lectures on Government and Binding: The Pisa Lectures. Mouton de Gruyter.

Minimalist program (MP) (a reworking of the theory out of the GB framework published by Chomsky in 1995)Chomsky, Noam (1995). The Minimalist Program. MIT Press.

Dependency grammar

Dependency grammar is an approach to sentence structure where syntactic units are arranged according to the dependency relation, as opposed to the constituency relation of phrase structure grammars. Dependencies are directed links between words. The (finite) verb is seen as the root of all clause structure and all the other words in the clause are either directly or indirectly dependent on this root. Some prominent dependency-based theories of syntax are:

Lucien TesniÃ¨re (1893â1954) is widely seen as the father of modern dependency-based theories of syntax and grammar. He argued vehemently against the binary division of the clause into subject and predicate that is associated with the grammars of his day (S â NP VP) and which remains at the core of most phrase structure grammars. In the place of this division, he positioned the verb as the root of all clause structure.Concerning TesniÃ¨re's rejection of the binary division of the clause into subject and predicate and in favor of the verb as the root of all structure, see TesniÃ¨re (1969:103â105).

Categorial grammar

Categorial grammar is an approach that attributes the syntactic structure not to rules of grammar, but to the properties of the syntactic categories themselves. For example, rather than asserting that sentences are constructed by a rule that combines a noun phrase (NP) and a verb phrase (VP) (e.g., the phrase structure rule S â NP VP), in categorial grammar, such principles are embedded in the category of the head word itself. So the syntactic category for an intransitive verb is a complex formula representing the fact that the verb acts as a function word requiring an NP as an input and produces a sentence level structure as an output. This complex category is notated as (NPS) instead of V. NPS is read as "a category that searches to the left (indicated by ) for an NP (the element on the left) and outputs a sentence (the element on the right)." The category of transitive verb is defined as an element that requires two NPs (its subject and its direct object) to form a sentence. This is notated as (NP/(NPS)) which means "a category that searches to the right (indicated by /) for an NP (the object), and generates a function (equivalent to the VP) which is (NPS), which in turn represents a function that searches to the left for an NP and produces a sentence."Tree-adjoining grammar is a categorial grammar that adds in partial tree structures to the categories.